Friday, July 08, 2016

Featured Guest Author: Brandon Witt and his upcoming release Son of Money. Includes Excerpt & Giveaway.

We are delighted to welcome Brandon Witt to Sinfully as he celebrates the upcoming release of Son of Money, due for release on the 11th July.

There is a love story of two men in Son of Money, and one of my favorite ‘first’ kisses I’ve ever written. However, there’s a secondary love story as well. The story of how Randall Morgan met and, ultimately, fell in love with his dog Harper.

Though Randall had never wanted a dog, on a whim the night before, trying to make his niece happy, he’d blurted out that he was planning on going to the humane society and adopting a dog. What he didn’t plan on was meeting his long, lost first love working at the humane society. After much shock at seeing each other again, Noah takes Randall back to meet the dogs. The first dog that was an option for Randall was an adorable little dachshund named Charlie. However, Charlie didn’t have a love connection with Randall.

“Are you serious? I got rejected by a dog?”

Noah let out a warm laugh. “Looks that way. Don’t be offended, though. Maybe Harper will like you.”

I nearly pointed out to Charlie that beggars weren’t supposed to be choosers, but I doubted Noah would find the humor. I liked the name Harper better than Charlie anyway.

After securing Charlie’s kennel once more, Noah led me to the very last cell. He looked over at me before unlocking it. “Harper has been with us a little over a year. We’ve not found a good home for her yet. She’s three, shy, and a sweet little dog. Don’t let her looks throw you off.”

Without giving me a chance to reply, Noah opened the glass door and led me inside.

I didn’t see a dog at all, though it was obviously hidden beneath a pile of blankets that covered a dog bed in the corner. Like before, Noah sat on the ground and motioned across from him for me to do the same. After I got settled, Noah patted the concrete floor with his hand. “Come here, Harper.” Though he still didn’t use baby talk, his tone was softer than it had been with Charlie. “Come here, girl.”

A head poked out from the pile of blankets, and I flinched. I looked over at Noah. “You’ve got to be kidding. Let’s try Charlie again.”

“If you want a dog that matches your accessories, you’re going to have to go somewhere else. If you want a dog that will love you and one I think you can handle, then let’s see what Harper thinks of you.”

The dog put a tentative foot outside the blankets, paused, and sniffed the air, the motion causing her to look even stranger. Again I looked back at Noah.

He smiled. “Harper is part pug and part Chihuahua. She couldn’t be sweeter or calmer. She’s just got some dental issues.”

“Dental issues? She looks like she borrowed her bottom jaw from a vampire.” The words were out of my mouth before I could censor them. To my surprise, Noah laughed. “That’s a pretty good description.”

He patted the floor. “You’re okay, sweet girl. Come on.”

Harper stepped free from her blankets and stood hesitantly, inspecting both of us with her bugged-out eyes. Her blonde body was stocky and compact, with a tail raised like a question mark behind her back. Both her tail and her floppy, pointed ears were a darker caramel color. Again she sniffed the air, the motion causing her toothy jaw to quiver.

“Hold out your hand, Randall.”

I tore my eyes from Harper to stare at him. “Are you insane? She could rip my hand off with those things. It’s like someone shoved Jaws down a cute dog’s throat.”

This time he wasn’t amused.I held out my hand.After a few more sniffs, Harper surprised me by walking directly to my hand, not even bothering with Noah. She sniffed my fingers, and I praised my determination that I didn’t pull away. When she stopped, Harper surprised me once more by walking around my outstretched arm and crawling into my lap. She plopped her back-quarters down on my leg and looked up toward my face. Our eyes met. Hers were a watery yellow-brown. Not pretty.

And yet....

With a snort, she snuggled in close to me, and rested her head under my chest.

I continued to stare at the fat, rather hideous dog, and ran my fingers down over her back.

Another snort.So not cute.And yet....I wondered if Bailey would scream when she met her. Huh. I suddenly realized I’d made up my mind. Bailey was going to meet Harper. My new dog.

My new ugly dog. Who was warm and heavy in my lap. Snorting more than a dog, or anything else other than a pig, should. Tongue lolling over terrifyingly hideous teeth. Staring up at me like I’d created the entire world just for her.

I looked over at Noah, who was beaming.“I thought so.”Within half an hour, I was driving back to my apartment, Harper snoring contently in my lap, Noah’s phone number saved in my cell.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this scene of Son of Money. As I’ve discovered personally, there’s nothing like a dog to make the entire world seem better.

Son of Money

Brandon Witt

Synopsis

Randall Morgan, youngest son of one of Seattle’s wealthiest families, rejected his family’s money to live free of their control and pursue his career as a photographer. To make ends meet, Randall does erotic photography and massage—a secret he keeps from his family so he can remain a part of his young niece’s life. But the price of that relationship is high, and Randall is once more slipping under his family’s thumb.Noah Carroll is the spokesperson for the Seattle Humane Society, and the city holds a special place in his heart. When fate intervenes during a pet adoption, Noah finds himself face-to-face with his first love—Randall.While Noah and Randall are not the teenagers they once were, the flame of a first kiss long ago draws them together. Their romance is beginning to grow, but someone is out to destroy Randall and expose all he keeps hidden.When secrets and rumors thrust Randall into the public eye, his relationship with Noah isn’t the only thing that comes under threat.

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Meet Brandon Witt

Brandon Witt is many things. Above all, he is living the dream. After years of writing and reaching for the stars, he is a published author through Dreamspinner Press. Thus far, his novels include The Shattered Door, Then the Stars Fall, and three installments of the Men of Myth series. Also, he has short stories published in various anthologies. For the first eighteen years of life, Brandon lived in a small Ozark town, El Dorado Springs, Missouri before moving with his family to Colorado. There he got degrees in Youth Ministry and Special Education and worked as a counselor and special education teacher for fifteen years. The tension of his religious upbringing and being a gay man finds its way onto nearly every page in his novels, as does experiences that over a decade of loving children who have faced much abuse and many struggles. Reflecting what he has discovered to be true in life, Brandon's writing does not shy away from challenges and conflict but also revels in the joy that can only happen when truly embracing and loving all that life has to offer.